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For the first time in its 17-year history, the Katherine Fleming International Development Award was be presented to a Coady participant from Swaziland.

Dr. June Webber, Coady director and StFX vice-president, has announced that Mabuyakhulu Abingo Siphiwe Phumla receive the award during StFX's homecoming weekend (9:30am, Saturday, Oct. 1 in Dennis Hall). The award and endowment fund were established by the family, friends and classmates of Katie Fleming, StFX alumna ’85, who dedicated her life to fighting poverty in Africa. It is awarded each year to a woman from Africa taking part in the Diploma in Development Leadership.

Ms. Mabuyakhulu is founder and director of Compassionate Swaziland, a charity that works with schools and community groups to provide comprehensive care and support to HIV/AIDS-affected children and young people. This includes providing sexual and reproductive health rights education and preventing gender-based violence, which is a regular cause of new HIV infections and a barrier to finding support.

Quotes

“Siphiwe is an inspired Swaziland leader with a vision for equity, inclusion and voice for the women and girls of her sub-Saharan country. Siphiwe acknowledges the importance of her role as a woman leader to build tomorrow’s leadership who will have the confidence and skill to create strong, resilient communities.” – Dr. June Webber, Coady Institute director and StFX vice-president

“It is an honour for me to accept this award, especially on behalf of the women and children I work with.

I feel that the work I have been doing with them has given me the opportunity to speak to the world about the social and economic challenges they face every day.” – Siphiwe Mabuyakhulu

Quick facts

Ms. Mabuyakhulu is one of 41 participants from 18 countries attending the 2016 Diploma in Development Leadership program in Antigonish, Nova Scotia.

Swazi charity wins international award

A Swazi charity has won an international award for local organisations working to improve the lives of vulnerable children.

Compassionate Swaziland, which works in the Lubombo and Shiselweni regions of Swaziland, is one of five Global Rising Stars – jointly awarded by The Global Fund for Children and Stars Foundation.

About the award

The Global Rising Stars Awards (GRS) is committed to helping small, effective grassroots organisations become stronger, more sustainable and more able to deliver vital services on the ground.

“We believe the best way to improve the lives of the world’s most vulnerable children is through grassroots organisations,” said Global Fund for Children CEO Susan Goodell. “They work on the local level, reaching children who would otherwise fall through the cracks—orphans, trafficked children, child labourers—and providing them with the care and support they need.”

The prize package includes US$20,000 in flexible funding and an additional US$10,000 in tailored consultancy and capacity building support.

“Flexible funding is crucial in developing and empowering these high-potential grassroots organisations. It allows them to adapt to unforeseen circumstances and invest their funds where they most need in order to sustain or scale their work at a critical time in their growth trajectory” said Muna Wehbe, CEO of Stars Foundation.

About Stars Foundation

Stars Foundation recognises and rewards outstanding local non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working to improve the wellbeing and life chances of children in the countries with the highest rates of under-five mortality.

About The Global Fund for ChildrenThe Global Fund for Children finds and invests in innovative grassroots organizations serving the world’s most vulnerable children—including street children, trafficked children, refugees, and AIDS orphans—in more than 55 countries. GFC supports these organizations with financial resources, management training, capacity-building expertise, and technical assistance to help them achieve their vision, become sustainable, and reach even more children in need. To date, GFC has awarded over $34 million in grants to more than 600 grassroots organizations in 78 countries, serving more than 9 million children.

About Compassionate Swaziland

Compassionate Swaziland works with schools and community groups to provide comprehensive care and support to HIV/AIDS-affected children and young people.

This includes providing sexual and reproductive health rights education and preventing gender-based violence, regarded as a regular cause of new HIV infections and a barrier to accessing services and support.

In Swaziland, one in four adults are living with HIV. The country has the highest HIV prevalence in the world at 27 percent. [1]

Children from the age of 8 from poor households experience challenges in accessing basic needs while adolescents of 13-17 lack youth friendly services from the healthcare system in Swaziland as they are not applicable for paediatric or adult systems of care, since the services in place to detect, treat and prevent HIV/AIDS infection do not exist for those outside these age parameters.

Director Siphiwe Mabuyakhulu said: “This grant will help us continue to make the lives of the children we serve better. Our organization is very proud of this award and the support from Stars and GFC, this will contribute to make our organization stronger, better and be able to assist more children.”

Advocacy on children’s right and protection against abuse. Adolescents are screened for depression, sexual and gender based violence (GBV) during routine field visits and referrals for services to recommended institutions are made. Care giver, teachers and community leaders are sensitized on the effect of GBV and how they can be engaged in the fight against GBV. They are trained on human rights, Child Protection and Welfare Act of 2012.

ONE WEEK OVC IMPACT MITIGATION TRAINING REPORT

On 29th May 2016 to 2nd June 2016 there was a training for OVC impact mitigation Field Officers and Home Visitors from Mtsambama, Mpolonjeni and Ngwempisi Tinkhundla under the Umliba Loya Embili Project. The training was to equip the OVC Field Officers and Home Visitors especially, those from Ngwempisi Inkhundla who have just started implementing the project; enrolment assessment exercise has taken place and the next step is to implement the project based on the results found from the enrolment exercise. The Home Visitors were awarded certificates after the even.

Participants taking a group photo after the training; holding their certificates

After school adolescent girls club and community based adolescents club. Adolescent girls between the age of 10 to 19 in school, 15 t0 19 out of school are facilitated to form clubs and go through Stepping Stone Curriculum. The adolescents take lessons on HTC, SRH, access and use of contraceptives, condom usage, delaying sexual debut, menstrual cycle management, HIV prevention career choices, assertiveness, decision making, leadership, rights of women and girls and advocacy against GBV.

Community based adolescent girls club in Mpolonjeni during one of their sessions

Umliba Loya Embili project supports OVC adolescents by providing educational support; school fees, school uniforms and stationery depending on the need of the child. Those who were forced out of school due to certain reasons are re-enrolled back to school. Out of school adolescents and young women between 20 – 24 are supported to join vocational skills training colleges to boost their employment opportunities and self-employment through ownership of small businesses.

PSYCHOSOCIAL SUPPORT

Adolescents are facilitated to form support groups; Teen clubs for ALHIV, teen camps through which they get a supportive environment where they share experiences from their peers and receive psychosocial support. They share experiences in negotiating safe sex, menstruation challenges, relationships, sex and sexuality, status disclosure and ART adherence. Home visits and care plan development are done by Home Visitors to each and every adolescent’s household to assess the individual adolescent needs; HIV prevention, counselling, treatment literacy and ART adherence, sexual and reproductive health rights, child rights and child protection, referral system for medical assistance.

Umliba Loya Embili project targets both caregivers and adolescent OVCs. The caregivers are facilitated to form WORTH groups where they make groups and individual savings to enhance their capacity to meet family basic needs. The caregivers are equipped with savings and entrepreneurial skills in order to strengthen household economy.

HOUSEHOLD ECONOMIC STRENTHENING (WORTH GROUP)

Umliba Loya Embili project targets both caregivers and adolescent OVCs. The caregivers are facilitated to form WORTH groups where they make groups and individual savings to enhance their capacity to meet family basic needs. The caregivers are equipped with savings and entrepreneurial skills in order to strengthen household economy.